A Day's Fishing
by Balin Lord of Moria
Summary: <html><head></head>A young married couple want to try to become great sports fishermen at the fictitious Lake Bass. Based on *Cabela's Monster Bass.*</html>


**A/N: **I must confess, I have never played any of the Cabela's series of video hunting/fishing games. But I do know _some_ things about hunting and fishing, and I was fascinated when I first heard of these games about sport hunting and fishing. I thought it was too good an offer to pass up to write some stories about Cabela's. Forgive me if I don't get all the game details down accurately.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Cabela's Monster Bass_. Activision published, and presumably owns it. Lake Bass is my own creation, and the characters are OC's. The characters do look like they do in the game, though, more or less.

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><p><strong>A Day's Fishing<strong>

Steve and Jennifer Ratter were going out on a small lake somewhere in Tennessee for a day's fishing. They had just arrived at the lake and were parking their car as a guide came out of the visitor's center to greet them.

"Hi, folks," he said amiably to them as they brought their fishing gear out of the back of their truck. "I'm Alfred. Welcome to Lake Bass, where the fishing is always good!"

"Hi, Alfred," the young couple said to him, introducing themselves. "We came to see if we could make a good catch today, maybe bring in a Largemouth Bass, or at least a salmon, and just enjoy the sunshine and the water," said Steve.

"Sounds like a good way to fill some time," said Alfred, "Let me get a fishing boat ready for you to rent. Do you need any help with your gear?"

"Oh, no thanks," said Jennifer, "Steve and I are strong enough to carry it ourselves. And we brought our own boat with us. I'm surprised you didn't notice it."

"Okay, good to hear," said Alfred. "I just didn't see the back of your truck yet. Need any help getting it to the water?"

"No, thanks," said Steve, "We'll be fine."

"Okay, good luck," said Alfred. "By the way, I hope you catch a bass, but one of the easiest and most common big fish to catch is the Rainbow Trout."

"Thank you, Alfred," called the two of them as they pushed their boat into the water, not forgetting to put their gear in it first. They quickly climbed into the boat and started to row away from the shore.

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><p>The two of them rowed through the water for a little while, enjoying the sights. "Look, Steve," said Jennifer, "There are some Mallard ducks swimming over there! If they can find some fish here, we're bound to find some, too."<p>

"Yeah, I see them," said Steve, "The ducks always are a pretty sight on the water. In fact, I thought I saw a grebe or two, way over there. At least, that's what it looked like to me. You know that grebes are a much less common sight than ducks around here."

"Well, then, it may have just been your imagination, you know," Jennifer replied, "Lots of similar birds swim in lakes and rivers to catch fish."

"Maybe," said Steve, taking off his shirt and applying some bug spray. "I don't think the sun is strong enough to give us sunburn today, Jennifer, but it's still supposed to be bright and warm. You might want to take your jacket off and put on your visor cap."

"Good idea, Steve," said Jennifer, and she put on her visor, subsequently peeling off her running jacket and her shoes. Then she proceeded to spray bug repellent on her arms, legs, midriff, and neck. She was dressed in a sports bra and long shorts underneath. Steve was also barefoot and wore swimming trunks and a baseball cap. They were both dark-haired, with Steve being brown-haired and Jennifer being almost black-haired. Her ponytail went through the back opening of her cap.

They were certainly the beautiful people, but they didn't come to Lake Bass to show off for anyone, except maybe to each other during their spare time. They came to fish, and to enjoy each other's company. Soon, they had rowed to an area that was a little brackish and filled with floating plants. They got out their fishing poles and carefully put the bait on them. Finally, they cast their lines out into the water for the first time during that particular fishing trip.

"Do salmon really frequent these waters, Steve?" asked Jennifer as she pulled in her line with nothing on the hook.

"Oh yes, they do," said Steve, "Primarily a few different kinds of trout. My goal today is to try to catch three Rainbow Trout, if I can't nab a Largemouth Bass instead."

"Really?" she replied, "I thought _I'd_ stick with fishing for the trout. A large bass weighs more than a baby, and I think they're a little more aggressive, too."

"Maybe," said Steve. "Did you know that the Largemouth Bass isn't really a bass at all?"

"Why, no, I didn't," Jennifer replied, interested. "What are they really?"

"They belong to the Sunfish family," explained Steve, "They're also the official sport fish of this state. Ironically, though, most of its alternate names also refer to it as a bass."

"It just goes to show how ichthyologists and other zoologists mistake a certain animal for another kind by appearance," said Jennifer, "And how later they learn the truth through biology, but nobody wants to change the name out of tradition or pure laziness of the tongue. The same thing goes for a lot of other animals, also."

"I agree, Jennifer," said Steve, "But I'm still amazed at how much irony there can be in zoology, even these days."

They sat there for hours, listening to a portable radio they had brought along, talking, generally enjoying the day, but they weren't having a lot of luck catching fish, or at least Jennifer wasn't. After the first hour, Steve reeled in a Rainbow Trout, just as he had been hoping would happen.

"I'm on my way to making the catch of the day, Jennifer," he boasted.

She frowned at him. "Don't get too smug, Steve," she said, "I may still be able to catch something big too, you know."

But another hour and a half later, he caught a second Rainbow Trout. He was very pleased to see that he was getting closer to his goal. This second one had been a little harder to reel in, but Steve had used some muscle and some tricks he had learned with the fishing pole. He remembered not to pull too hard, or he would've broken the pole, or the fish would've torn the line. And soon, he had it in a bucket of water with the first fish, ready to try for the last one.

Jennifer, on the other hand, wasn't getting any good bites, except for a few smaller fish that weren't game fish. It was frustrating for her. She didn't want to feel like her husband was better than her at this sort of sport. In sports fishing, you strove to be the best of them all, because sport was a natural competition, and she felt like her luck was running out.

But then, as it was moving into mid-afternoon, something strong took her line. She felt like the fish that had taken the line was easily excited, and she started to pull it in. It resisted, putting up a fight. She called to Steve, "Hey, Steve! I think I have a big one!"

"Really?" asked Steve, putting down his own pole to see. The fish got close to the surface of the water, and it suddenly came out of the water, airborne.

"That's a Largemouth Bass, Jennifer!" said Steve, very excited, "You caught a Largemouth Bass!"

"Yes," said Jennifer, "But if I can reel it in, I should check it out, to see if it's a breeding female or not. You know how the authorities always bear down of fishermen to practice catch and release with many species of fish."

She managed to reel it in after one more minute of struggling, and checking it out, Jennifer and Steve realized that this one was breeding. "Oh well," said Jennifer, "I guess I can't take this one. See you around, fishy." She released the fish from the hook and tossed it back into the water. It quickly swam away in a panic.

"Well, I guess luck isn't with me today, after all," said a disappointed Jennifer.

"It isn't entirely with me, either," said Steve, "I still haven't caught my third Rainbow Trout."

But at that moment, another big fish grabbed Jennifer's line, and she almost lost her pole in her surprise. "Help me here, Steve!" she cried.

Steve grabbed her from behind and helped her pull the fish closer to the boat. This one put up almost as hard a fight as the last one, but Jennifer suddenly said, "Let me go, Steve! I just needed you to prevent my pole and I from being lost in the water. I can handle my own catches as well as you can handle your own catches."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Jennifer," said Steve, stepping back and giving her some space. Then Steve remembered why his wife was capable of taking care of herself. Like her husband, Jennifer was very athletic, and had both the muscle and the feminine determination to be a great sportswoman just like her like-minded and –bodied lover did.

Leaning back on her haunches, Jennifer reeled the fish in towards the boat, until at last, the fish leapt out of the water and made the mistake of landing in the boat. She checked this one out, too. It was a non-breeding male. She knew then that she had just bested her husband at catching the biggest game fish in the lake. She grinned at him.

"Looks like I win, honey," she said triumphantly.

"Yeah, looks like you do, dear," said Steve, and they hugged and kissed romantically for a moment. But then they came back to the present, and they noticed how late it was getting.

"I think we'd better get back to the dock, Jennifer," said Steve, "It'll be getting even later soon, and then it'll start getting dark."

"Gotcha, Steve," she said cheerfully as they began to pack up their fishing boxes and row to shore. Steve, of course, was happy for her, because what husband wouldn't be pleased to see his wife accomplishing some things on her own?

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><p>Jennifer's bass weighed in at 20 lbs., 5 oz. Steve's two Rainbow Trout weighed in at only 9 lbs. together, 4.5 lbs. apart. Alfred congratulated them for their efforts, and took a photograph of Jennifer holding her catch next to the scales. Steve stood beside her with his own catches in hand. Alfred also said that he would put in a good word for Jennifer Ratter to be named as a pro fisherwoman at Lake Bass Fishing Cove.<p>

And Steve and Jennifer went home knowing that not only was fishing a good way to relax, but it was also a sport that had a lot to offer when it came to personal satisfaction and making a living.

On the way out of the parking lot, Jennifer said to Steve, "I want to fish for sport for a living, Steve."

Steve smiled and touched her hand. She smiled back at him warmly.


End file.
